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Steven Gerrard would be foolish not to target Aston Villa midfielder Henri Lansbury in a January loan swoop having lost Ovie Ejaria.
What’s the word?
Ejaria is back in Liverpool now, having cut short his Ibrox loan spell after becoming unsettled north of the border and deleting all reference of the club from his social media accounts.
Gerrard held talks with the 21-year-old last Friday in hopes of resurrecting the midfielder’s potential Rangers career, but the Anfield icon was unable to convince the player to stay. Some suggestions about the player pointed to Ejaria struggling to adapt to the physical nature of the Scottish Premiership.
Sky Sports News quoted the Gers boss on the situation: “Am I disappointed he’s gone? Yes. Do I think it’s the right decision? No, because I think he had an incredible opportunity here.”
Having lost a figure that featured 21 times for Rangers, Gerrard has admitted fresh, talented faces will need to be signed in January, and one option he should consider is Aston Villa’s Lansbury.
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Why move for Lansbury?
The 28-year-old has featured just twice for the Villans so far this season, having picked up a hamstring injury upon his return from exile under Steve Bruce.
When he moved to Villa Park for £2.75million at the start of 2017, it should have been the next grand stage of his career after proving to be a goal-creating and scoring threat from midfield at Nottingham Forest.
It never took off in the same manner, unfortunately, and he soon fell out of favour. A clean slate upon Dean Smith’s arrival brought about his return to the first-team, until an injury took away his chance to show his worth once more.
Smith, though, remained impressed with his work ethic behind the scenes, stating: “He’s been doing really well and has played in a few behind-closed-doors games for us. He’s been pushing to get on and did well when he did.”
If Gerrard was to make a move, it would need to be on a temporary basis due to the Arsenal product’s significant £40,000-a-week wage. He would, however, benefit from the measured mind of the 28-year-old, who can pick apart opponents and get the most from his attacking colleagues.
Let us know if you’d welcome Henri Lansbury at Ibrox in our poll below…
